Tallaght 11 Coolmone 0

TALLAGHT R.F.C. 11

Try: James Maher

Pen: Ciaran Stewart 2

COOLMINE R.F.C. 0

Metro League Division 7

28/09/13 Tymon Park

Tallaght Rugby kicked off their Metro League Division 7 campaign by hosting Coolmine from Blanchardstown. Tallaght started off well and their pressure led to a scrum in the corner of the pitch. Skipper Simon Sweeney powered off the scrum and offloaded superbly to winger James Maher who touched down in the corner for the try. The conversion was missed but Tallaght kept the pressure on for the rest of the half and it yielded two penalties which their out-half Ciaran Stewart kicked to give Tallaght a 11-0 lead at half-time.

Tallaght were not as sharp in the second half and far too often they got stuck playing rugby in their own half. Trapped inside their twenty-two metre line they hung on for dear life especially as both Sean Judd and their captain Simon Sweeney were sinbinned first for tripping and a high tackle respectively. There was positive work as always from Ciaran Stewart and Jack Russell going forward. Also a commendation must go to Tony McManus for the scrum work and the great work of Paul Cunningham, Joe Ivers and Alan Moore in reducing the Coolmine lineout to a quivering wreck!

In the one of the best pieces of play of the match Alan Bernes (despite nursing an injured arm) took a high ball and set off on a run that made his infant son on the sideline giggle with pride and joy as he left several tacklers in his wake. However, when the ball was passed out wide to Gary Doyle, he looked sure to score, but the Coolmine wing made a fantastic tackle to snuff it out.

It was a sweaty and rancorous end that should really have been easier. Tallaght did show great guts in truth to sustain the pressure without breaking. They finally got out of their half and though Stewart missed a late penalty to put a touch of gloss on the win, it didn’t matter. Next week, they travel to Stillorgan and they’ll look to keep their winning run going.